Beyond Interdisciplinarity: Boundary Work, Communication, and Collaboration

Beyond Interdisciplinarity explores the expanding meaning of core concept across academic disciplines and other forms of knowledge. Julie Thompson Klein depicts the heterogeneity and boundary work of inter- and trans-disciplinarity in a conceptual framework based on an ecology of spatializing practices in transaction spaces. The book includes both crossdisciplinary and cross-sector work and emphasizes the roles of contextualization, historical change, and the shifting relationship of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 12 October 2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Beyond Interdisciplinarity delves into the evolving significance of a fundamental concept across various academic disciplines and other forms of knowledge. In this comprehensive book, Associate Editor of The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity and renowned scholar Julie Thompson Klein presents a conceptual framework rooted in an ecology of spatializing practices within transaction spaces, encompassing trading zones and communities of practice. This text encompasses both cross-disciplinary endeavors, encompassing multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary forms, as well as cross-sector work, spanning disciplines, fields, professions, government, industry, and communities.

The first section of the book establishes definitions and elucidates boundary work, discourses of interdisciplinarity, and the nature of interdisciplinary fields. In the subsequent section, Klein explores the dynamics of working across disciplines, encompassing communication, collaboration, and learning through practical examples and insights drawn from research projects and programs that transcend traditional boundaries. The concluding chapter examines reasons for failure and success, while also offering gateways to literature and other valuable resources.

Throughout the book, Klein underscores the importance of contextualization and historical change while considering the evolving relationship between disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, the rise of transdisciplinarity, and intersections with other constructs such as Mode 2 knowledge production, convergence, team science, and postdisciplinarity. The conceptual framework presented by Klein includes the roles of boundary objects, agents, and organizations in brokering differences and fostering platforms for transformative change.

Klein further elucidates the significance of translation, interlanguage, and communication in facilitating interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. By examining these aspects, Beyond Interdisciplinarity provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the evolving landscape of interdisciplinary research and practice, offering valuable insights for scholars, researchers, and practitioners alike.

Weight: 288g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197571156